Joe Biden will be sworn in as the forty-sixth U.S. president today in an inauguration ceremony unlike any other in history (AP). Occurring two weeks after insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol Building, the inauguration will be heavily secured (NYT). More than twenty-five thousand National Guard members are deployed in Washington, which is essentially on lockdown. In addition, only around one thousand guests will attend the event, due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Biden’s inaugural address is expected to focus on unifying a divided nation, and he plans to take a flurry of executive actions today (WaPo), including on combating the pandemic and providing economic relief. Last night, Biden and Kamala Harris—who will be the first woman, the first Black person, and the first South Asian person to serve as vice president—held a memorial for the more than four hundred thousand Americans who have died of COVID-19. Outgoing President Donald J. Trump left the White House this morning and will not attend the inauguration. During his last hours in office, Trump issued dozens of pardons, including for former chief strategist Steve Bannon.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that China is committing genocide and crimes against humanity (NYT) against Uighurs in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. The United States is the first country to apply those terms to the Chinese government’s abuses.

This CFR Backgrounder explains China’s repression of Uighurs.

China: The founder of Chinese company Alibaba Group, Jack Ma, gave a video speech to rural teachers, his first public appearance in months (SCMP). Ma had not been seen since giving a controversial speech in Shanghai in October.

During their first talks in a year, officials discussed beginning to repatriate Rohingya refugees (RFA) living in Bangladesh in the second quarter of 2021. Rohingya refugees protested previous repatriation attempts, saying they would not return to Myanmar without safety guarantees.

Afghanistan: The government will not release more Taliban prisoners (TOLO), a senior official announced, saying that previous releases have resulted in more violence. The Taliban has asked for the release of seven thousand additional prisoners. 

Iran sanctioned President Trump and nine senior administration officials for “terrorist and anti–human rights acts” (Al Jazeera) against Iran, imposing travel bans on them and freezing financial assets potentially held in the country. The Trump administration imposed harsh sanctions on Iran after withdrawing the United States from the nuclear agreement in 2018.

This CFR Backgrounder explains the Iran nuclear deal.

Yemen: The United States exempted aid groups (Reuters) and the United Nations from its designation of Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organization and will also allow the export of agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices to the country. UN officials still worry that the designation could push Yemen into a large-scale famine.

The U.S. State Department said it would ban visas (East African) for an unspecified number of Tanzanian officials for undermining democracy during the country’s 2020 elections, which foreign observers said were flawed.

Zimbabwe: The country’s foreign minister, SB Moyo, died from coronavirus-related complications (APA), the government announced.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte won a vote of confidence (Politico) in Italy’s Senate by 156 to 140, ending the immediate threat of his removal after the Italia Viva party quit Conte’s coalition last week. 
 
Brussels: The European Commission recommended that European Union member states aim to give 70 percent of their citizens (AFP) COVID-19 vaccines by June.

Trump signed an executive order deferring the deportations (AP) of more than 145,000 Venezuelans for eighteen months. His administration also announced sanctions on several business entities and individuals accused of helping Venezuela’s state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), evade earlier U.S. sanctions.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at Venezuela’s boom-and-bust ride as a petrostate.
 
Brazil: Indigenous people in the Amazon Rainforest started receiving COVID-19 vaccines (Reuters), one day after Brazil kicked off a nationwide vaccination campaign. Nearly one thousand indigenous Brazilians have reportedly died from the virus.